CHAPTER 11 - An Introduction to Crime Reconstruction

Abstract

This chapter provides an introduction to crime reconstruction. Crime reconstruction is the determination of the actions and events surrounding the commission of a crime. A reconstruction may be accomplished by using the statements of witnesses, the confession of a suspect, the statement of a living victim, or the examination and interpretation of physical evidence. It requires the ability to put together a puzzle using pieces of unknown dimensions without a guiding picture. Like criminal profiling, crime reconstruction is a forensic discipline based on the forensic sciences, the scientific method, analytical logic, and critical thinking. It requires an understanding of Locard's exchange principle, the ability to recognize and mitigate bias, and the willingness to abandon theories once they have been disproved. Crime reconstruction is a scientific endeavor that is best performed by qualified forensic scientists. Criminal profilers must either have such a background or work closely with those who do. When the criminal profiler is not a practicing forensic scientist, additional education and training in the forensic sciences is necessary to effectively perform behavioral evidence analysis (BEA)-style profiles. The failure to consider offender actions, victim actions, and evidence dynamics as a part of any crime-reconstruction process has the potential to provide for misinterpretations of physical evidence and inaccurate or incomplete interpretations. Any subsequent use of the reconstruction would have a diminished foundation and relevance, compounding the harm in legal, investigative, and research venues. It is the responsibility of forensic scientists to perform reconstructions of the circumstances and behaviors involved in a crime with diligence and to be aware of these influences so that their interpretations reflect the most informed and accurate rendering of the evidence.